SUNY Plattsburgh reports mumps case: ‘The college is not in an outbreak situation’

Officials with the Clinton County Health Department in Plattsburgh, NY has reported a case of mumps in the community. The patient is a student at SUNY Plattsburgh and the school along with county and state health officials are taking steps to identify contacts with the patient and to ensure vaccination status is up to date.

Mumps/CDC

Dr. Kathleen Camelo, Director of SUNY Plattsburgh’s center for Student Health and Psychological Services said, “The college is not in an outbreak situation of multiple cases and no students need to leave campus. The college is encouraging those few students who have not been vaccinated to come to the Student Health and counseling center to be vaccinated.”

Mumps is a contagious respiratory illness caused by the mumps virus. It is spread through the air by droplets and contact with saliva or mucus from infected persons. Mumps can be transmitted through coughing and sneezing as well as sharing food or beverage items and utensils with infected individuals.

Symptoms of mumps include fever, body aches, headaches, and swelling or pain of the salivary glands near the ears and jaw.

While most individuals recover fully, mumps infection can occasionally cause serious complications in adults that can include inflammation of the testicles in men or ovaries and breasts in women, inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), and temporary or permanent deafness.

Vaccination with two doses of Mumps-Measles-Rubella (MMR) vaccine is the best way to prevent mumps infection.